Miramar headed to playoffs after win against Flanagan

Class 8A state runner-up Patriots hang on for 35-16 win over Falcons

PEMBROKE PINES — It has been a season of ups and downs for the Miramar football team.

There have been games where the Patriots played brilliantly and others where they've struggled.

But with its season on the line, Miramar put together a complete effort, holding off a late Flanagan charge to earn a 35-16 win over the Falcons in a District 12-8A showdown that decided the postseason fate for both teams.

Miramar, the Class 8A state runner-up which faced the possibility of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006, will advance as the district runner-up behind Cypress Bay. For Flanagan, the wait for the school's first postseason berth continues.

"We had a little bit of trouble coming together as a team [early in the year], that was our only issue," said Miramar running back Eric Pittman, whose two second-half touchdown runs helped the Patriots pull away. "Coming together was our main thing, and now that we're getting ready to go in the playoffs, we're starting to jell together as a team."

Despite building a 21-9 fourth-quarter lead and controlling the tempo much of the game, Miramar (6-4, 4-1) found itself in dangerous territory when Flanagan's sophomore quarterback Ryan Stanley completed an 11-yard scoring pass to Dylan Malson with 5:04 left in the game.

That touchdown pulled the Falcons within five after the extra point, but six plays after recovering Flanagan's onsides kick, Miramar gave itself some breathing room on Pittman's second touchdown of the night, a 59-yard scoring run that gave the Patriots a 28-16 lead with 3:45 left.

Pittman, a junior, finished with 13 carries for 130 yards.

Stanley, who has emerged as one of Broward County's top quarterbacks, tried to help Flanagan (6-3, 3-2) answer, but his 36-of-65 performance for 320 yards wasn't enough to help the Falcons catch the Patriots.

Stanley's 65 attempts set a new Broward County record as he bypassed the 61 passes thrown by North Broward Prep's Matt Werksman in 2000.

"It's a hard pill to swallow this year because we were so close," said Flanagan coach Don Simon. "But the sun will rise tomorrow and we'll be fine. We're real young still, so we're always looking forward. We can still finish with a decent record."